Routine
by jediserenity82
Summary: Sometimes, a routine is all that holds you together when it feels like the universe is falling apart. Oneshot. CarthRevan romance.


**Routine**

Carth Onasi stood in his kitchen, sipping at a steaming cup of hot caffa, as he stared out the window of his Telosian home. His eyes wandered to the kilometer-high wroshyr tree that Revan had planted only six years earlier. She lay there, resting beneath its leafy branches.

The tree had become the butt of their many good-natured banters. Carth smiled slightly at the memory.

_Carth snickered as he watched the tiny woman attempt to place the slightly larger-than-herself tree into the ground. He stepped up behind her to help her lift it and place it snugly into its hole._

"_I hate to burst your bubble, Beautiful. But Telos' soil can't even handle growing its own trees, let alone support the life of an import." _

_Revan wiped her hands on the knees of her pants and grinned smugly at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Onasi, if I can put up with you, I can sure as hell make a tree grow."_

_He chuckled and snaked his arms around her tiny waist. "I'd wager one hundred credits that that tree won't last a year."_

_She grinned and placed a small kiss on his lips. "I'll take that bet, Flyboy. But it's a bet that you can't win. That tree will be the largest one in the yard. And _when _I win, you'll have to wait on me hand and foot."_

_Carth grinned impishly. "Don't I do that already?"_

Revan had won, of course. Not that Carth minded. At all. He enjoyed doing things for her.

He stepped out into the lush backyard and made his way over to her, taking his caffa mug with him.

The day was flawless. Not a single cloud in the sky, the morning creatures sang happily, as if not a care in the world.

Revan was silent as he approached and sat down next to her, his long legs stretched out in front of him. "It's nice out," he commented, closing his eyes and leaning against the tree, letting Telos' warm sun beam down on to his face.

This spot had become their favorite place in the yard. Shaded, peaceful, and quiet.

They did this everyday, just sit beneath the tree and enjoy each other's company. Most days nothing was said, but others Carth would tell her of the plans he had made for the rest of the day.

He would speak of their way-ward friends from the Ebon Hawk. Juhani, Bastila, Canderous, Jolee, and Zalbaar. Her favorite, of course, was to hear about Mission. She and the little blue twi'lek had grown exceptionally close during their adventures searching for the Star Forge.

Although the Star Forge was something she _never_ wanted to hear about.

She would listen silent, expressionlessly, as he spoke. She wasn't much of a conversationalist anymore. Not since the horrors of her battles in the Unknown Regions.

Carth didn't mind, though. She had always preferred to hear about others. She preferred to hear him speak, anyway. So he did.

Mostly it would just be random thoughts or events that had occurred. But today he had a new message for her.

"I spoke with Dustil last night, Beautiful." He whispered, sipping away at his now-cold cup of caffa. "He's coming in next week." He chuckled softly to himself. "The boy finally got the courage to ask that girl of his to marry him."

If the thought hadn't have been so ludicrous, he would have sworn he could see her smile, the way she always had when he spoke of his son.

Carth missed seeing her smile. It had always found a way to brighten his mood. But now…

He was so consumed with his thoughts; he practically jumped out of his skin when he felt a tiny hand rest on his shoulder. He looked up to see his five-year old daughter Kyera standing beside him, her bright blue eyes glistening with tears as she looked down at him.

Carth lifted his arms and pulled her into his lap and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Hey there, Gorgeous."

* * *

Mission Vao stood in the kitchen, watching Carth and Kyera in the backyard and shook her head sympathetically. She stopped by the Onasi house everyday to check up on them.

It had been a year since the Jedi Exile, Sage Kelly, had returned from the Unknown Regions with Revan's beaten, bruised, and bloody body. She was barely alive and the sight of it all had floored Carth, Mission, and the rest of their crew.

Mission had never seen Carth cry before and it had been almost as hard to see as Revan's appearance. It scared her. In his time waiting for her return, he had stayed strong and vigilant, keeping his promise to keep the Republic strong.

Jolee, Bastila, Juhani, and Sage all tried their best to put Revan back together. However, their attempts had been in vain and she became one with the Force only a week afterwards.

Carth had waited so long for Revan to come back to him and their daughter, but this reunion was not one he had been expecting, or wanted.

The night before her death, Revan asked a favor of Mission, one that she would have no problem keeping.

_Revan reached over and intertwined her fingers with her young friends. For once, it was just the two of them in the hospital room. Carth had gone back to their home to pick up Kyera to bring her to the hospital._

"_Mission, I need you to do something for me." Revan's voice came out raspy and full of pain. Mission could hear the wheezing sound in her lungs when she took a breath._

_The little twi'lek leaned forward, resting her elbows on the bed and her head on their linked hands. "Anything, Rev."_

"_Watch after them, Mission. Don't let Carth blame himself for my death."_

_Tears wielded in Mission's eyes. "Don't talk like that, Revan. You're going to be okay, right? You're strong. You're going to pull through."_

_The Jedi smiled softly. "I wish that were true…" her voice trailed off into an uncontrollable fit of coughs._

_Mission furrowed her brow sympathetically and tightened her grip on Revan's hand. It was then she realized that she _wasn't_ going to win this battle. She fought the urge to sob. She had to stay strong, for Revan's sake._

_When the coughing finally eased off, Revan continued. "Make sure Carth stays strong for Kyera. She's going to need him more than ever." A tear slowly escaped her eye and slid down her face. "I'm not afraid to die. I'm not afraid of becoming one with the Force. But…" she used her unoccupied hand to wipe the tears from her face. "My only regret is that I won't be able to see Kyera grow up. I wasn't able to be there for her."_

_Revan smiled again. "She's going to need a good mentor, Mish. She could learn a lot from you."_

_Mission only nodded._

_Her friend looked up at the ceiling, trying hard not to cry again. "I want Jolee to train her in the ways of the Force, when she's old enough. I want her to know the ways of the Jedi, but I want her to experience love as well. Like I did, with Carth. She deserves that."_

_Mission bit her lip, suddenly unable to find any better words to say to her dying friend. "Okay."_

"_Lastly," Revan began, giving her friend's hand a light squeeze. "Make sure Carth finds someone to love again. He has so much to offer someone, and I don't want that to go to waist. I want him to be happy. He and Kyera both deserve that." She paused. "But don't let either of them forget how much I love them."_

_Mission snorted. "I'll try, but the old geezer is stubborn."_

_Revan attempted a chuckle, but it quickly turned into another coughing fit, and ended with a yawn._

_The twi'lek stood and kissed her friend's hand. "I should let you rest." _

_Revan nodded. "Take care of yourself, Mission. I'll see you again. One day."_

That was the last time Mission got to see Revan alive. The funeral ceremony had been traditional, although Carth had begged for her body not to be burned, that it had suffered enough. It had been what Revan wanted. She didn't want to be any different than anyone else. But Carth insisted on taking Revan's ashes home and buried them underneath her favorite spot in the world. The tree that she and Carth had planted.

Mission shook her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. She glanced out the window again to see Carth stand, with Kyera on his hip.

She knew this wasn't exactly healthy for Carth to still be so secluded from others. But it was his routine. It was how he dealt with his grief.

She knew he would never love another woman again, no matter how much Revan insisted that he should. It had only been a year since his wife's death; he still needed time to recover. If he ever did.

But Mission would keep her promise. She would watch out for her friends, her family.

That was her routine. And she would continue to do so, everyday.


End file.
